“You’re still worth it”: The moral and relational context of politically motivated unfriending decisions in online networks

Abstract

Political disagreements in social media can result in removing (i.e., “unfriending”) a person from one’s online network. Given that such actions could lead to the (ideological) homogenization of networks, it is pivotal to understand the psychological processes intertwined in unfriending decisions. This requires not only addressing different types of disagreements but also analyzing them in the relational context they occur. This article proposes that political disagreements leading to drastic measures such as unfriending are attributable to more deeply rooted moral dissents. Based on moral foundations theory and relationship regulation research, this work presents empirical evidence from two experiments. In both studies, subjects rated political statements (that violated different moral foundations) with regard to perceived reprehensibility and the likelihood of unfriending the source. Study 1 (N = 721) revealed that moral judgments of a political statement are moderately related to the unfriending decision. Study 2 (N = 822) replicated this finding but indicated that unfriending is less likely when the source of the morally reprehensible statement is relationally close to the unfriender and provides emotional support. This research extends unfriending literature by pointing to morality as a new dimension of analysis and offers initial evidence uncovering the psychological trade-off behind the decision of terminating digital ties. Drawing on this, our findings inform research on the homogenization of online networks by indicating that selective avoidance (in the form of politically motivated unfriending) is conditional upon the relational context and the interpersonal benefits individuals receive therein.

Politically Motivated Avoidance in Social Networks: A Study of Facebook and the 2020 Presidential Election

“…Viewed through this lens, politically motivated unfriending/unfollowing may represent a form of moral boundary regulation in the maintenance of social networks rather than ideological filtration (i.e., John & Gal, 2018). In a recent study, Neubaum et al (2021) found that ". .…”

When You Are Wrong on Facebook, Just Admit It

“…Arguments on online social networks (OSNs), such as Facebook and Twitter, have become a part of everyday life (Anderson et al, 2018; Neubaum et al, 2021). This is not surprising because OSNs create a space for people to easily express their opinions, which can encourage open dialog.…”

Friendship and Technology

“…Choosing to unfriend someone online with the click of a mouse and no feedback about why can hinder the other's ability to reflect and identify what could be done differently, which are important to moral development. Neubaum et al (2021) recently published an examination of the moral dimensions of unfriending. The ease of unfriending, for example, has been tied to a degradation and discouragement of civil discourse (Baysha, 2020).…”